


TFW No Boyfriend

by rensly



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Kisses, M/M, Makeouts, are kou and hagima dating?, bar au, eventually noiz in a bunny suit ehehehe, fuckity bye, its a forever mystery, jealous bf kinda sorta, kou and hagima from beni-shigure, lets say its implied lol, please help me, red poet society, rensly, steamy makeouts, that isn't a tag stupid fuck, they are my children
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-20
Updated: 2014-09-21
Packaged: 2018-02-14 01:13:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2172333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rensly/pseuds/rensly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Koujaku heads to the bar to get Aoba off his mind and ends up meeting a certain German.  Shenanigans ensue.  Originally an AU idea and hell yeah let's fucking write it; what are summaries even</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Yeah I Beat Up Your Would-Be Boyfriend

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Alright. I know I'm supposed to be workin' on that Renao story... BUT... everyone needs a little Kounoi in their lives amirite or amirite
> 
> Kou and Hagima are my children so yeah... I put 'em in there... *sweats nervously*  
> (These are members of Beni-Shigure btw; they're technically side characters in DMMd)
> 
> Regardless...
> 
> Let's fucking go!
> 
> -R /)w(\

I.

There were only three things on Koujaku’s mind at that moment; and he found himself regretting thinking that alcohol could solve his problems.  
The woman at the bar was clearly drunk.  
The woman at the bar was clearly attractive.  
The woman at the bar was clearly hitting on Koujaku.  
The entire situation was just plain awkward, in his eyes; and in the bartender’s eyes as well, who kept shooting Koujaku sympathetic glances now and then.  
“So~ you wanna go back to my place, Big Boy?” the girl stuttered out, leaning over onto Koujaku’s arm.  
She ran her fingers up and down his muscles as if they were a brand new concept to her.  
“You’re so, yum, Babe~ you know I wouldn’t mind~”  
He blinked and the bartender was about to intervene when a voice over Koujaku’s other shoulder distracted the three of them.  
“Entschuldigung, Miss, do you have a problem with mein boyfriend?” he asked, leaning over Koujaku to stare intently at the drunken woman.  
“Y-your what?”  
“My boyfriend,” the blonde said, sounding aggravated, casually wrapping his arm around Koujaku’s free arm.  
I have no idea who this man is, Koujaku thought worriedly.  
“Hey, Du, Mizuki, right? Get another pint for the lady; it’s on me,” he continued, as though the entire scenario was a normal thing for him.  
Perhaps it is, thought Koujaku.  
“Well, if you’re sure, Noiz,” the bartender- Mizuki- said.  
The blonde- Noiz- nodded and waved his hand dismissively, “Ja, just do it.”  
The woman seemed to be bothered by Noiz’s intervention.  
“Oi, you, I don’t know who you are but can’t you tell this guy’s with me?” she asked, tightening her grip on Koujaku’s arm.  
Before he could even turn to observe the German man’s reaction, he felt coolness on his lips. In a moment, it was gone, and he sat there dumbfounded until the drunken woman abruptly shot from her barstool.  
“Well you should’ve told me you swung that way from the start,” she snapped, yanking her purse over one shoulder and stumbling toward the door.

 

“I can’t believe you kissed me,” Koujaku said again, “I don’t even know you.”  
Noiz shrugged and took the seat beside him, “Alright then, I’m Noiz. Now you know.”  
Koujaku raised an eyebrow, “You’ve got to be shitting me.”  
Mizuki smiled at the two of them and offered Koujaku his condolences, “Honestly, Noiz isn’t a bad guy. He hangs out in Midorijima from time to time, but he’s actually from Germany.”  
“Don’t go flaunting my heritage to some stranger,” Noiz said, deadpan.  
“How do you even know all this, Mizuki?” Koujaku asked, digging out a pack of cigarettes.  
“I told him,” Noiz said, pulling out some form of an electronic game.  
Koujaku sighed and ran his hand over the back of his neck, feeling exhaustion begin to cloud his thoughts.  
“I’m heading home; I might open the shop up tomorrow. See ya,’ Mizuki,” Koujaku said, coming to a stand and taking his long sword from its place against the bar and swinging it over his shoulder.  
Mizuki set down his rag and waved with the hand that wasn’t holding a shot glass.  
“Yeah, you should come here more often, Koujaku, you know Dry Juice is pretty chill with Beni-Shigure,” he said quietly.  
Koujaku nodded as he put the cigarette to his mouth, “Yeah I know. Maybe I’ll be by later this week.”  
Mizuki gave him a small smile as if to say ‘well that’s better than not at all, I guess.’  
Noiz didn’t look up from his videogame as Koujaku left; the front he’d put up for that drunken girl was just that, a front.  
So then why, Koujaku wondered, did he feel so disappointed?

 

“Hey, Mizuki,” Noiz said, shutting his videogame console and stowing it in his pocket.  
The bartender glanced over his shoulder as he wiped down the tables, “Yeah?”  
The German turned around in his stool, green eyes focused on the street outside the window behind Mizuki.  
“Beni-Shigure’s a Rib team, right?”  
Mizuki straightened and leaned his hip against the table, “Oh, yeah, that’s right. You’re more into Rhyme so you don’t really know the Rib teams.”  
Noiz nodded, looking slightly disinterested.  
“Anyway,” Mizuki said, waving his hand as if to dismiss his earlier statement, “Beni-Shigure is a Rib team and Koujaku- the guy who was in here last night-”  
“Ja, I remember him,” Noiz cut in, seeming impatient.  
“He’s their leader. Dry Juice and Beni-Shigure get along pretty well though, so it’s all good between us.”  
“So der Spatz isn’t in to Rhyme,” Noiz said more to himself than to Mizuki.  
Nonetheless, the Filipino felt the need to comment.  
“Actually, we met because of a mutual friend. It’s kind of a weird story, I gotta say. I dislike Rhyme so when I first met Aoba, I was expecting to dislike him too. He had this sort of stand-off attitude like he owned all of Midorijima but the moment Koujaku showed up, the entire atmosphere changed.”  
“What do you mean?” Noiz asked, suddenly looking rather interested.  
“Well to put it quite simply,” Mizuki said, glancing down at the floor, “Koujaku was in love with him.”

 

Koujaku laid stretched out on the couch, hands over his eyes and coffee mug on the coffee table.  
“Never… going drinking… again,” he mumbled.  
He was overly grateful, however, that he hadn’t embarrassed himself by spewing desperate things about Aoba in front of Mizuki. While he kept his feelings tightly hidden away in the darkest parts of his mind, alongside a certain tattoo artist and the murder of a certain woman, he knew that as soon as he got to drinking, all his walls came down.  
He was most vulnerable when he was drinking.  
Slowly, he sat up and reached for his coffee. Taking a swig and clumsily getting to his feet, Koujaku made his way into the kitchen. His scarred fingers found the edge of the picture frame and he flipped it face down.  
Not now, Koujaku thought, I can’t see Aoba’s face now.  
He was suffering; he missed Aoba. Drinking put off his problems but it didn’t make them go away. Being alone was painful.  
But last night at the bar, Koujaku had felt his pain fade for a brief moment. Perhaps it had been the alcohol but he doubted it; it was that German, Noiz.  
“But he’s an asshole; just playing around for kicks,” Koujaku reminded himself.  
And yet, the hairdresser found himself wondering if he would return to bar earlier than he had planned. 

 

Noiz was silent for a moment, thoughts whirling at a sickening pace. Finally, he nodded at Mizuki, “I see.”  
Mizuki sighed and rubbed the back of his neck anxiously, “Yeah it was kind of surprising. To see a Rib leader in love with a die-hard Rhymer… it was pretty unexpected. But then again, they were childhood friends so they got along before Rib and Rhyme were even really popular.”  
“Do you have his address?” Noiz asked suddenly.  
He said it so casually that Mizuki was shocked by the German’s skill in manipulating his voice.  
“Aoba’s? Uh yeah, he lives pretty close. But you’d be going through Beni-Shigure’s turf and they aren’t too fond of the Rhymers-”  
“Nein, not him. The other one; the guy from yesterday.”  
Mizuki blinked, “Koujaku?”  
Noiz grunted in what would suffice as a ‘yeah, he’s the one I’m talking about.’  
“Yeah, give me a sec.,” Mizuki said, pushing off from his spot against the table and headed to get a slip of paper.  
Noiz leaned back in the barstool and studied the ceiling of the bar, deep in thought. He wondered what had made him behave so strangely yesterday; why had he felt so compelled to help that man, Koujaku, with that woman?  
But he was brought out of his thoughts as Mizuki leaned over and handed him a scrap of paper.  
“That’s the address, but you’ll probably need to be careful heading over there; you’re a Rhymer and since you’re still going through Beni-Shigure’s territory, you better remember that they’re Ribsters.”  
Noiz came to a stand and nodded, “Ja, I’ll remember.”  
And then he was off.

 

Beni’s annoyed voice sounded in Koujaku’s ear and he shook his head, clearing it of difficult thoughts.  
“Beni! What?” Koujaku asked, sweeping his hand over his shoulder to dislodge the small bird.  
“Your Coil, Boss! Your Coil’s ringin’!”  
Koujaku looked down, “Ah, so it is.”  
Upon further inspection, he was surprised to find that it was Kou who was calling. How long had it been since he had called?  
A while, Koujaku thought as he answered.  
“Koujaku-san!”  
Koujaku’s ears were ringing from Kou’s loud voice.  
“O-Oi, Kou, could you talk a bit quieter?” he asked, holding the Coil away from his face with a sigh.  
“Sorry, Koujaku-san, but this is really important!”  
Everything’s important to you, Kou, Koujaku thought with an inward sigh.  
“There was some suspicious stuff happening on our turf, I thought you should know.”  
“Can’t you guys handle it on your own?” Koujaku asked.  
He hadn’t meant to sound rude but his head was reeling and his thoughts were muddled up, no thanks to that bratty German from last night.  
“Well, that’s the thing,” Kou said, “It was another one of those Rhyme Drive-Bys.”  
Koujaku shrugged his shoulders, “Listen, Kou, that’s unfortunate but-”  
“Aoba-san got pulled in, Koujaku-san, that’s what I’m trying to tell you,” Kou interrupted.  
“Dammit! I’m on my way,” Koujaku said, already pulling on his long sword and tucking Beni closer to his neck.  
“Wait, Koujaku-san-!”  
But Koujaku had already hung up and grimaced as he tucked his hairpin into his long navy locks.  
“Dammit! DAMMIT!! Why did it have to be today?!” he muttered, throwing open the door in a fury.  
“What I was going to tell you was that we came straight over,” Kou said, holding Aoba’s limp form in his arms.  
“Also, we caught the culprit,” Hagima said, appearing behind Kou.  
Koujaku took Aoba’s body from the other Beni-Shigure member before looking at Hagima, “Oh? Where is he?”  
Kou pointed a little ways back and two other Beni-Shigure members walked up, holding the shoulders of a young man.  
“N-Noiz?!”


	2. Yeah I Need Relationship Advice From The Bartender

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh I'm a day late /)w(\ Sorry about that~
> 
> I have some big tests coming up! *huffs*
> 
> (A/N: "Spatz" is the German term for "sparrow" and since I have a HC that Noiz speaks in German sometimes I did add that in there *bows* forgive me please. Also, Aoba's name translates to "Blue leaf" I heard so that's why he smells like autumn and blueberries. I'm fucking lame, I know.)
> 
> Without further ado, here's September's chapter!  
> Let's fucking go!
> 
> -R

Noiz sat silently with his arms crossed over his chest on Koujaku’s couch beside Kou. Hagima and the other members of Beni-Shigure, after realising that Koujaku was acquainted with Aoba’s attacker, left them alone.   
Kou rose to check on Aoba, who lay stretched out on Koujaku’s bed in the other room.  
“Aoba-san?” he whispered, tip-toeing into the room to check Aoba’s pulse.  
A blue ball of fur popped from Aoba’s duffle bag and Kou was pleasantly surprised to see Ren looking unharmed.  
“Ren-san!”  
“Hello Kou,” Ren said, greeting him as he climbed from the bag, “we were dragged into a Rhyme battle earlier. Aoba’s body is functioning normally so he should be fine. I appreciate your concern.”  
Kou shrugged, “Ayahaha, it’s no big deal! I’m just glad the two of you are okay!”  
Ren nodded, “I am also glad.”  
“If you don’t mind, Ren-san, could I pet you?” Kou asked.  
Ren looked up at the Beni-Shigure member and sighed, “That would be alright, yes.”  
“Yes!” Kou said, enthusiastically running his fingertips lightly over Ren’s furry head.  
“Pardon me, Kou, if you wouldn’t mind, could you watch over Aoba? I was a bit damaged in the Drive-by so I require approximately twenty-two minutes in sleep mode for my system to re-settle. While I’d rather watch over Aoba myself, he would grow angry with me if I were to neglect my own damages for his sake.”  
Kou blinked and shrugged, “Sure, Ren, I think it’s cool that you’re so concerned for Aoba.”  
Ren nodded his thanks and settled into sleep mode on the bed beside Aoba’s leg. Kou ran his fingers gently over Ren’s blue fur again.  
“Having an Allmate must be so nice,” he mused quietly.

 

“What the actual fuck were you thinking?!” Koujaku demanded, standing over Noiz with a maddening look on his face.  
Noiz glanced up at Koujaku when he was done yelling, “Are you finished now, Spatz?”  
“Do you think this is some sort of game? You could’ve killed Aoba! Kou told me that you modified the setting in the Rhyme field in order to make it so the pain sensors no longer worked. You could’ve hurt Ren too!”  
Noiz stared up at him calmly.  
That patient face angered Koujaku even more.  
“Is any of this getting through to you?!” he finally demanded, leaning down so that his face was level with Noiz’s.  
“So that’s him,” Noiz said.  
“Huh?”  
Noiz raised his green gaze to Koujaku’s crimson one and sighed, “Mizuki told me. That guy… Sly Blue, you guys are pretty close.”  
“Of course we are! I-!”   
He stopped.  
I, I what? He wondered.  
I love him, Koujaku thought guiltily.  
“I already knew that; it doesn’t matter to me. He was a Rhymer and I was a Rhymer so I wanted to play him in Rhyme. But also,” Noiz gave Koujaku a small shrug, “I wanted to see how much you loved him; what you would do.”  
Koujaku suddenly leaned back, feeling the air around them tighten.  
Noiz had just confessed something painfully huge right then and they both knew it. Koujaku could’ve gotten angry at Noiz taking advantage of both his emotions as well as Aoba but instead, his feeling just vanished, leaving him with a strange emptiness.  
“Are you going to explain that now?” Koujaku asked, not daring to look at Noiz.  
That had been a mistake, he realised, as the German took his arm and pulled him closer.   
“W-wait, Noiz-!”  
But gravity was crueler than fate and he fell down onto the blond.  
“What?” Noiz asked, not releasing his grip on Koujaku’s arm.  
The hairdresser was straddling the younger man but Noiz didn’t seem to mind.  
“Why do you cover your eye?” Noiz asked, raising his hand from Koujaku’s arm up towards his face.  
Koujaku caught his arm swiftly, shaking his head, “No. It isn’t important. Don’t ask.”  
Noiz frowned a bit at that, seeming annoyed to be turned down.  
“Stupid Spatz,” he muttered.  
“Spat-mhph-!”  
The coolness from last night came sweeping in again against Koujaku’s lips. His eyes widened as he realised what Noiz was doing. He reared back, horrified.  
“D-don’t do something like that all of a sudden, you brat!”  
Noiz continued to stare, “What? You want me to tell you every time I’m going to kiss you?”  
“W-what? N-no! I don’t want you to kiss me!”  
The German just rolled his eyes and yanked Koujaku back down by his hair.  
“I’m gonna kiss you,” he breathed into Koujaku’s face.  
And he did just that.

 

“Hey, Koujaku-!” Kou paused, seeing the leader of Beni-Shigure bent over the blond man, Noiz.  
He slapped his hand over his mouth and ducked back into the bedroom.  
“Oh shit,” he whispered to himself as he pulled his sleeve back to get his fingers on his Coil.  
Though he didn’t really know Mizuki all that well, Kou knew that Koujaku did, and surely some answers would lie there, he thought.  
“Yeah?”  
Kou breathed a sigh of relief hearing Mizuki pick up. Usually the bar wasn’t too busy in the early afternoon but with Mizuki and Dry Juice’s popularity, he could never be sure when the rush would come.  
“Mizuki-san! It’s Kou from Beni-Shigure,” Kou said.  
Mizuki made some type of noise as if to say, ‘oh yeah. Hey!’  
“Is there something wrong?” Mizuki asked, looking apprehensive.  
Kou’s grey gaze slid towards the door and he shifted it back to his Coil, “N-not particularly… but do you happen to know a blond Rhymer?”  
“Jesus,” Mizuki breathed out, sounding irritated, “fuck yeah I do. His name’s Noiz. He and Koujaku met a little while ago at the bar. What did he do this time?”  
Kou smiled a bit, nervously, “N-nothing really… it’s just…”  
“Sorry to be blunt here, Kou, but um, they don’t happen to be making out or anything, do they?”  
Kou felt the heat rise to his face and he scratched his head, “W-well about that…”  
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Noiz seems to have taken a liking to your leader, regardless that he’s a Ribster. He’s a bit… awkward so please excuse his bratty behaviours,” Mizuki said, waving apologetically.  
The Beni-Shigure member shook his head, “N-no it’s not a big deal, I was just a bit shocked was all…”  
“Me too,” Mizuki said in agreement, “I’m just relieved that Koujaku seems to be distracted from his feelings for Aoba.”  
Kou sighed and nodded slowly, “Same here. I worry about him, you know?”  
Mizuki nodded, “Yeah.” 

 

Noiz’s tongue brushed up against Koujaku’s lips and the hairdresser slowly opened his mouth a bit. Noiz hummed quietly as if to say ‘thanks’ and his tongue greedily explored the insides of Koujaku’s mouth.  
The older man let out a moan and he felt Noiz smile beneath him.  
“You don’t get out much, do you?” Noiz asked, leaning away from Koujaku.  
Koujaku shot him an unimpressed look.  
The corner of Noiz’s mouth twitched into the beginnings of another smile and he quickly pulled Koujaku’s face back to his.  
“Needy… Brat…” Koujaku muttered as Noiz’s lips came to meet his.  
“You think I’m the needy one?” the German asked, suddenly pausing.   
Koujaku blinked, “Huh?”  
Noiz pulled the hairdresser’s face closer to his so that their noses were nearly touching.  
“Don’t insult me, Old Man,” he whispered, “I can do it better than you anyway.”  
Koujaku rolled his eyes and then hurriedly pushed himself from Noiz.  
“L-listen, we can’t do this,” he said, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand and running his scarred fingers through the hair that fell over his eye.  
Noiz raised a thick eyebrow in silent question, as if to say ‘why the hell not? Are you kidding me right now? We just made out and you gotta admit there was sexual tension earlier and lots of flirting so why the hell not?!’  
“Is it because your childhood crush is right in the other room?” Noiz asked, glancing in the direction of the bedroom, as if considering going straight to Aoba and informing him of Koujaku’s recent interests in a certain German.  
“N-no! Kou’s here, you fucking bean sprout!”   
Noiz’s green gaze flicked back over to Koujaku and he glared, “Well shit, I’ll just ask him to leave.”  
“Idiot!” Koujaku whisper-screamed, shoving Noiz back down onto the couch, “you definitely can’t do that! W-what if Aoba wakes up?!”  
Noiz frowned up at the hairdresser, “Ah, so it is about Sly Blue.”  
“That’s not his name,” Koujaku whispered in annoyance.  
The German rolled his eyes and sighed, “Okay, I don’t expect you to agree or anything but I’m gonna tell you anyway.”  
Koujaku straightened, as if baffled by Noiz’s comment.  
“I’m gonna fuck you. I’m gonna straight up fuck you, Spatz. I don’t care who’s around when I do. You better know that.”  
And then he roughly pushed Koujaku from atop him and headed to the door, not even bothering to put his shoes on when he walked out.  
Koujaku stood in the main room for a moment, thinking over Noiz’s words.  
“Damn.”

 

“What do you mean ‘you need boyfriend advice’? You’re great with people!” Mizuki said, sweeping the broom across the rough flooring of the bar.  
Noiz rolled his eyes and ran his bandaged fingers through his blond hair, “I can do without the sarcasm, shitstain.”  
“Rude, much?” Mizuki replied, sticking his tongue out playfully.  
The German sighed and spun the stirrer around in his coffee, “I’ve never felt this before; this annoying warmth inside of me whenever I’m around that fucking hairdresser. It’s so damn… ugh! I feel like I could puke up every slice of pizza I’ve ever eaten whenever he’s around!”  
Mizuki stifled a small laugh as he reached down to pick up the dustpan and shrugged helplessly, “I don’t really know what to say, man. I mean… you seriously said that to him?”  
“Said what?”  
“That you were gonna fuck him. You honestly said that.”  
Noiz nodded, “Yeah. Duh, of course. I’m going to too.”  
The Filipino bit his lip and glanced away, “Yeah, but you don’t just say that… it kinda weirds people out. And to be honest, since Aoba’s such a fucking wuss about some things… he’d probably get bottomed if he and Koujaku were doing the do.”  
“The fuck? You’re serious? That old man… would top Sly Blue; the infamous Sly Blue who destroys the minds of those who dare to face him in Rhyme? Him? Getting topped by that fucking Spatz?” Noiz said, staring at Mizuki incredulously.  
“Yeah, sounds about right,” Mizuki replied.  
His low voice was nearly a whisper in comparison to Noiz’s overpowering one.  
“What I mean is,” Mizuki continued, “is that Koujaku isn’t really used to people coming on to him so… directly. You saw how uncomfortable he was when that chick hit on him, right? That’s why you stepped in, right?”  
The German shrugged, “Yeah I guess so. But c’mon, what am I supposed to do when some old man is just a groaning moaning mess all over me?”  
“How should I know? Apparently you find that kind of thing hot, so you’re kinda on your own,” Mizuki shot back, hiding a grin.  
“Well fuck you too,” Noiz said, the corners of his mouth turning up.  
Mizuki leaned the broom against the wall and dumped the contents in the dust pan into the trash bin before wiping his hands on his apron and leaning on the counter across from Noiz.  
“Well if I had to give you some advice… I’d just show up one day at his place in the middle of the night, ya’ know? Just surprise him. Like, ‘bam! I’m here! Ready to be totally queer!’”  
Noiz nearly snorted his coffee out his nose at that.  
“You’re shitting me; that’s what I’m supposed to do?”  
“Fuck no! I was just joking!”  
The German nodded, “Right yeah, of course.”  
Mizuki let out a sigh and ran his hand over the back of his neck, tiredly.  
“Seriously, though. He’ll have one of those nights again, when he gets kinda weird because he’s been so alone, ya’ know? That’ll be the night that you gotta show up. And to be totally honest here,” Mizuki said, “that night is probably tonight.”

 

Once Aoba had awoken in frenzy, followed by profusely apologizing to Koujaku and Kou about the mess he’d involved them in, he’d hurriedly left and thanked them several times. Kou had watched Aoba pat Ren carefully and how the blue-haired man had quickened his pace when he’d realised that Ren had acquired some damage in the Drive-By.  
Kou had also watched Koujaku’s excited expression slowly dissipate and then vanish altogether when Aoba was finally out of sight.  
“Hey, Koujaku-san,” Kou began, though a bit unsure what to say.  
Koujaku didn’t even seem to register Kou’s voice.  
It was disheartening.  
Where the hell’s that blond kid when he needs him? Kou thought, irritated.  
“I’m leaving then, I hope you have a nice night,” Kou said, feeling awkward as he pulled on his shoes and waved a final goodbye.  
Koujaku waved as well and Beni’s incessant farewells made up for Koujaku’s mindless waving and auto-piloted smile.  
“Fuck it,” Kou whispered, “I’ve gotta do something. Koujaku-san is miserable without Aoba-san around.”  
“I’m glad I’m not the only one thinking that,” said a voice.  
Kou turned and found Hagima walking out from the shadows, hands shoved into his jeans pockets.  
“Hagima-san?”  
“Drop the –san, Kou,” Hagima said, scratching his temple in annoyance, “I’ve been worried about the boss too. We should talk to someone.”  
Kou nodded, “Yeah, I know. I talked with Mizuki-san earlier.”  
“Who?”  
“Ah, he’s friends with Koujaku-san and Aoba-san. Evidently, he’s also friends with that blond kid from earlier… what’s his name? Loud? Echo? I don’t know; something like that…”  
“Is he that guy who works at Black Needle? The Dry Juice leader?” Hagima asked.  
Kou nodded, “Yeah, yeah. That’s Mizuki-san.”  
“And what’d he say about Koujaku and that blond brat?”  
“U-um… that he thought they got along well together. I… I kinda agree, actually.”  
Hagima sighed in exasperation, “Well fuck it, let’s go to Black Needle and see what we can do. I can’t stand seeing Boss so down in the dumps, ya’ know?”  
Kou nodded, “Yeah.”

 

“Alright so what do you suggest then?” Mizuki asked, pouring a cup of coffee for himself and sighing in relief as he took a swig.  
Noiz shrugged again, “Dunno. Do you think it could work?”  
“What?”  
“Me and that jackass.”  
Mizuki blinked and then raised his gaze to the ceiling as if really contemplating Noiz’s question.  
“Yeah,” he said after a while.  
The faint twitch of Noiz’s eyebrow was the only evidence of his surprise. Muffled voices sounded and the door to Black Needle swung open. In came two men wearing traditional Japanese clothing.  
Mizuki recognized their outfits immediately as they entered.  
“Mizuki-san, hey!”   
The Filipino recognized the first man to be Kou from Beni-Shigure with whom he’d talked with earlier.  
“Kou, right?” he said, just to be sure.  
The grey-haired man nodded, “Yeah!”  
The man beside him, dressed similarly without a hakama nodded in greeting.  
“O-oh, this is Hagima, he’s from Beni-Shigure too,” Kou said, coming up to the bar and taking a seat.  
“You’re the guys from earlier,” Noiz said, sounding bored.  
“Yeah,” Kou said, “I’m Kou. This is Hagima.”  
“Noiz,” Noiz said, scarcely giving them a look.  
Mizuki looked between Noiz and the Ribsters and then sighed, “Well, what’s up? Did you guys need something or are you here for a drink?”  
Kou sighed too, cupping his chin in his hands and closing his eyes.  
“Well… we’ve been thinking,” he said quietly, “that Koujaku-san was really happy when Noiz-san was around…”  
“It helps Boss forget about his unrequited feelings for Aoba,” Hagima added as Mizuki handed him a cup of coffee.

 

Mizuki’s gaze slid over the counter to rest on Noiz. The corners of the German’s lips twitched upward in a miniscule manner.  
“Did you hear that, Noiz?” Mizuki said, almost feeling bad for rubbing salt in the wound.  
Noiz raised his gaze to meet Mizuki’s, icy with danger; it was as if he were saying ‘Mizuki, you ass, shut the hell up. I’ve already made up my mind, that fucking hairdresser is equivalent to one hundred pizzas. But he’s free and the pizza isn’t. So I’ll take what I can get.’  
Kou opened one eye and watched Noiz wordlessly.  
“Yeah, I heard,” Noiz replied, trying to keep his expression blank.  
He was having a tough time.  
Hagima sighed loudly and folded his hands behind his head, “Damn. This isn’t going to work.”  
“It seems that way,” Kou said as his gaze slid to meet the other Ribster’s.  
Mizuki stared at Noiz as if to say, ‘you dumb fuck! You’re missing your chance!’  
The German sighed as Hagima pushed his cash towards Mizuki and Kou rose to leave.  
“Wait,” Noiz ordered, his bandaged hand catching the sleeve of Kou’s shirt.  
Hagima and Kou traded glances as if to say ‘we got ‘im.’  
“What?” Kou asked, putting on an innocent face and gently pulling his clothing from the younger man’s grip.   
“What do you guys suggest?” Noiz finally asked, fixing his green gaze on the Beni-Shigure members.

 

Koujaku found himself lying on his bed with Beni in sleep mode. It seemed to be easier to contemplate his feelings without the tinny voice of his Allmate constantly invading his mind. On the contrary, it also allowed Koujaku’s thoughts to roll over all the lesser parts of himself.  
The bed smelled like Aoba’s shampoo. It was a peculiar scent, Koujaku thought, somewhere between a woodland scent like autumn and blueberries. It wasn’t unpleasant, he thought hurriedly, just strange.  
He sighed deeply in annoyance; thinking about Aoba was not helpful in the slightest. He’d began to wonder when he’d become so pathetic. If he kept it up at this rate, his clients would begin to notice and that, he thought worriedly, was bad for business.   
But he couldn’t help himself; his mind worked slowly over Aoba, Noiz, and Beni-Shigure, cycling at a sickeningly slow pace.  
“I’ve got to get out more,” he said to himself.  
As soon as he’d said it, Noiz’s brash comment from earlier flashed in his mind and he groaned inwardly.  
“Fucking German, I swear,” he snarled as he pushed himself into a sitting position and then stood to collect his coffee.  
It had a rather large stain on his wooden coffee table and it tasted too bland for his liking.  
“Well shit,” he whispered, collapsing onto the couch.  
Koujaku finally woke Beni from his “not-long-enough” sleep mode and asked him to get directions to Black Needle.  
He needed to ask Mizuki for some advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go, I know this chapter was also relatively uneventful... how lame of me! But I promise we're getting action next chapter... *sweats nervously*   
> I'm just... not good at this. *sighs* Alright! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and are eager for next month's chapter!   
> I'm getting a little excited about it, actually! *blushes a bit*  
> Well, until next time~! ;w;
> 
> -R

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:
> 
> That was relatively uneventful... sorry about that *sweats nervously*
> 
> What is Rhyme even... how am I supposed to write that out...
> 
> How do I write Mizuki out? It is a mystery.
> 
> Next month's chapter will definitely be more action-packed... hopefully. 
> 
> And by action-packed... I mean makeouts and doing the do *glances around hurriedly* 
> 
> Yeah I did the Cliff-hanger again... I'm awful. I know <3
> 
> -R /)w(\


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